What Happened Next

Responding to the upsurge in Civil War interest spurred by Ken Burns’s popular 1992 PBS television series, “The Civil War,” staff at the Petersburg National Battlefield Park proposed updating and enhancing the old roadside historical markers to improve the visitor experience at Civil War sites. In 1995, with an Intermodal Surface Transportation Equity Act (ISTEA) grant from VDOT, a coalition of municipalities, historians, marketing specialists, and National Park Service (NPS) staff created Lee’s Retreat, a 20-stop driving tour through six counties connecting Petersburg to Appomattox. A detailed brochure map plus a series of directional signs, strategically placed by VDOT along relevant corridors, leads tourists to sites where historical markers are augmented by informative radio transmissions.

News of the Lee’s Retreat trail seeped out to other Virginia jurisdictions and private landowners who had all struggled over the years to preserve their historic assets while generating income from them. People started asking Jack Berry why they couldn’t do the same sort of trail in other parts of the state. Berry and his colleagues began brainstorming. “We thought: What if we linked the sites that told the tale of what preceded Lee’s retreat to Appomattox and created a statewide system of thematic trails, managed at the state level?” he recalls.

The Richmond CVB conducted an intensive letter-writing and phone-calling campaign to all jurisdictions in the state, contacting the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia Municipal League, and all the convention and visitors bureaus, among others, to garner support and cooperation for a statewide Civil War Trails project.

In the summer of 1995, with the first trail up and running and a second in the works, Mitch Bowman came on board as part-time director. He coordinated regional meetings to bring together historians, NPS staff, jurisdictional and regional leaders, and private site owners who, together, selected sites, planned additional trails, conducted research, and applied for ISTEA funding.

The funds, which required matching monies from the sites, were allocated according to need. Full-blown, established Civil War sites, such as national battlefields and museums, required very little money while other, previously unmarked sites needed considerably more money for the construction of roadside pull-offs, plus the research, writing, manufacturing, and installation of roadside markers. These efforts resulted in the opening of the Lee vs. Grant: The Overland Campaign trail in the summer of 1996. By the following spring, Bowman was brought on board as full-time director of the newly organized Virginia Civil War Trails (VCWT) initiative. Two months later, the 1862 Peninsula Campaign trail was inaugurated.

In late 1997, with three tours in place and the VCWT newly incorporated, the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) became an active partner to promote the state program. VTC pays for the toll-free information number and postage on all materials sent out in response to requests. They also include the VCWT program in print and media advertising for the state.

Throughout 1998 and 1999, two more trails were researched, produced and opened, bringing the tally of VCWT sites to 260 along 5 thematic trails that run through 79 cities and counties. VDOT has installed 800 trailblazer signs along roads throughout the state to help motorists reach their destinations. Engaging, user-friendly brochures outline each trail in detail with maps, driving instructions, and history. More than 200 interpretive signs are in place along the five trails.

In early 2000, VCWT received its nonprofit 501(c)(3) status and hired a part-time marketing coordinator. The staff is supported by a 12-member volunteer board and 30 volunteer committee members. Now, with a full-fledged organization behind it, the VCWT continues to plan for the program’s growth, establishing Internet gift shops and an electronic passport system to track visitors along the route.

But before leaping too far into the future, VCWT staff have addressed the very real concern of keeping the trails in good condition. Mitch Bowman notes that organizations “often overlook that the maintenance, marketing, and manicuring of the trail will require as much work as building it did in the first place.”

An adopt-a-sign membership program has been set up for counties that want to pay an annual contribution based on the number of interpretive signs in their areas. Prices are $500 per sign up to four signs, then less for each subsequent sign. This income supports 60 percent of VCWT’s ongoing operating and maintenance costs but, as importantly, “it instills a sense of custodial responsibility for the signs along the trail,” explains Bowman. With the installation of expensive interpretive signs around the state, a local eyes-and-ears effort is a necessity to prevent or repair damage. “It’s the grass-roots support that will keep the program going long after the initial grant projects have been completed,” declares Bowman.

Timeline

• 1993 - Organizers submit proposal and receive ISTEA grant through VDOT to develop a Civil War driving-tour trail

• 1994 - Coalition of six counties inventories sites, choosing 20 for the trail
  
  Letter-writing and phone-calling campaigns garner support for a statewide project

• 1995 - Lee’s Retreat trail opens in May
  
  VCWT organization established; hires part-time director
  
  Regional meetings of partners to select sites, plan additional trails, and apply for ISTEA funding

• 1996 - Lee vs. Grant: The Overland Campaign opens

• 1997 - VCWT hires a full-time director
  
  1862 Peninsula Campaign trail opens
  
  VTC becomes partner
  
  VCWT officially incorporates

• 1998 - Northern Virginia trail opens

• 1998-99 - The Shenandoah Valley Campaigns trail opens in segments

• 2000 - VCWT receives nonprofit 501(c)(3) status Part-time marketing coordinator hired

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